Distance
by Lexi-Grey
Summary: For centuries they had stood by each other's side. If one of them was around, the other wasn't far behind. People feared them apart but when they were together, no one stood a chance. And then things changed
1. Chapter 1

For centuries they had stood by each other's side. If one of them was around, the other wasn't far behind. People feared them apart but when they were together, no one stood a chance.

Kol and Mila had been best friends for centuries. Mila believed her biggest mistake had been falling in love with him. She was oblivious at first. Soon after she realized her feelings for him he was daggered. Then when she got her second chance, he was killed. For the first time in over six hundred years, he was gone.

After Kol's death, Mila had left the states and went back to France, where she had been born. She tried to heal and move on but she knew she'd never completely get over him. Then Rebekah called saying he was alive. Mila got on the first plane available and arrived in New Orleans the next day. She'd planned on telling him about her feelings.

Her plans changed once she reached New Orleans. Rebekah came to the airport to pick her up and had filled her in on everything she missed including Kol's time spent in another's body. It shattered Mila's plans and heart when Rebekah told her about the girl, Davina. He had fallen in love with her. He was happy, possibly for the first time in centuries. No matter how much it would hurt, she couldn't take that from him. Mila decided her feelings would remain a secret like they always had.

Mila and Rebekah walked into The Abattoir. It wasn't the first time she had been in the building. Back when the Mikaelsons first came to New Orleans Mila lived there. She helped Rebekah throw hundreds of balls back then. She couldn't help but smile thinking back on those times. Some of Mila's favorite memories came from their time in New Orleans.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by Rebekah yelling for her brothers. Mila looked up and saw Elijah coming down the steps.

"Rebekah please- Mila?"

She looked over at Rebekah in shock. "You didn't tell them I was coming?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise."

Mila froze when she heard her name said behind her. She turned around and a smile lit up her face. It hurt that he was with Davina but it didn't compare to how she felt when he was dead. Within seconds he had his arms wrapped around her. Mila clung to him hardly able to believe he was really there.

"I missed you Mila."

"You wouldn't have had to if you hadn't died."

"I don't think it was my fault." He laughed.

"Just don't let it happen again," she said and stepped away from him.

The two of then left The Abattoir and went to walk through New Orleans. She told him about the last few years. What she'd done since he died. He told her about what had happened in New Orleans.

"I was shocked that you weren't here," he said. "I looked for you."

She sighed. "After you died, I couldn't stay."

"You went back to France?"

"For a while, but I had to leave."

"What do you mean?"

Mila looked down staying silent at first. "For the first time in centuries, I truly lost control Kol."

"I'm sure it wasn't as bad you think. And it's good to lose control every few centuries."

She smiled. "Anyway, tell me about Davina."

"Rebekah told you everything didn't she?"

"Almost. So, tell me."

"She's amazing," he said. "It's been a long time since I've been this happy."

He kept talking, telling her all about the girl he loved. With every word, Mila felt her heart break more, but she kept a smile on her face the whole time. She couldn't tell him the truth. And as the minutes passed she realized she may not be able to stay in New Orleans. She couldn't watch him be with someone else; it would hurt more than she could bear.

"Mila?" She looked up when he said her name.

"I'm sorry what?"

"I said do you want to meet her?"

That made her pause. Could she really meet the girl he was in love with? The thought alone filled her with horror. Meeting her would be torture, but if she said no Kol would know something was wrong.

"I'd love to." She said.

A few days later Mila sitting with Klaus in the living room. She was reading through one of the many books in the house while he sketched in a notebook. She both looked up when the door opened.

Kol walked in with a girl by his side. Mila stood up as they moved towards her.

"Davina, I would like to introduce you to my best and oldest friend, Mila," Kol said. "Mila this is the love of my life, Davina."

She smiled even though the pain in her chest was growing every second. They all sat back down.

The worst part was the more they talked, the more Mila liked Davina. She could see why Kol fell for her. He could be happy with her. And Mila couldn't stay in New Orleans.

She stayed for another week. Spending time with Kol was more important than sparing herself the pain of seeing him with Davina. She'd mourned too much to give that up. But after a week she had enough. Pretending nothing was wrong was exhausting, and she didn't know how much longer she could keep it up. So she packed her bags determined to leave in the middle of the night so no one could stop her.

Mila made it to the front door before someone said her name. She turned and saw Elijah watching. She sighed.

"Don't give me that look."

"I'm just wondering why you're leaving without saying goodbye," he said. "And why you're leaving at all."

"I have to Elijah. I can't explain why." She sighed. "I just want to go home."

"This used to be your home." He was silent for a moment before speaking again.

"I understand. I've been forced to watch the person I love be with someone else."

She looked away. "How long have you known?"

"Before you did I imagine."

"I realized too late, so I have to get over it. I can't do that here."

"I won't tell anyone you've gone until you're far enough away that no one can stop you."

"Thank you, Elijah." She hugged him and grabbed her bag. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye Mila."

Once she was gone, he sighed before turning and heading up the stairs.

* * *

**This is the first thing I've posted here in a while. What do you guys think?**


	2. Chapter 2

It had been three months since Mila went back to France. It still hurt every time she thought about Kol being with Davina, but it was getting better every day. After she left, she cut off all contact with him. she knew he was angry. The voicemails he left showed that, but she couldn't speak to him. She wasn't ready. Getting over him was harder than she thought it would be and talking to him would throw her off completely. So even though it hurt until she resolved her feelings there would be no contact with him. He knew she was safe and that would have to be good enough for him.

Mila had called Rebekah when she got back home. She was angry that her leaving without saying goodbye but was oblivious to her reason for leaving. Klaus was the same way, but Mila felt like he knew more than he let on. Elijah was the only person who knew the whole story. He called to check on her many times. It helped keep her sane. He understood how she felt with Kol and tried to make her feel better. He told her about his Hayley situation. Eventually, Mila helped him realize that being with Hayley wasn't what he wanted. She knew there was someone who had held his heart for centuries and his feelings for Hayley were nothing compared to that. She hoped he would realize that. Then at least one of them would get to be with the person they loved.

—

Mila was sitting in the living room of her apartment when there was a knock on the door. After setting her laptop on the table she got up to answer it. Seeing the cause of her current predicament made her freeze.

"Hello Mila. Long time no see," Kol said.

"What are you doing here?"

"If it wasn't for my siblings, I would have assumed you were dead. And you haven't been answering my calls, so I had to come find you myself."

"I never asked you to." She turned and walked back into the apartment.

"Do you have any reason for why you've missed every phone call I've made for the past three months?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you Kol."

"You even spoke to Klaus over me. Of all the people. Something is going on."

She sighed. "Please just leave Kol."

"Mila we've known each other for six hundred years. I can tell when something is wrong."

"Me not wanting to talk to doesn't mean something is wrong with me. Maybe I'm just tired of dealing with you and all of your drama."

She stared at him with wide eyes. She hadn't meant for those words to leave her mouth. It wasn't true. She wanted him to stop questioning her because she was close to telling him the truth and she worried that the truth would ruin their friendship. But now it may be ruined, anyway.

"Fine. I apologize for bothering you."

"Kol wait…" He was gone before she could finish her sentence.

Mlia let out a scream knocking over a table close to her.

—

After making a few phone calls Mila found out what hotel Kol was staying at. Now she was standing outside his door too afraid to knock. If she didn't talk to him, it was possible their friendship would end, but if she told him the truth, the same thing could happen. Pushing away all of her fears she knocked on the door. He opened the door, but when he saw Mila he immediately tried to close it.

"Kol please just listen."

He opened the door but didn't move.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean what I said."

"I don't care about what you said. I care that you're lying to me."

She nodded as tears filled her eyes.

"You're right. Something has been bothering me and it has for a while. I'm just so scared. And I couldn't tell you. Especially not now."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm in love with you. And I couldn't tell you because you're happy. You're happy with Davina. That's why I left and that's why I can't talk to you. I have to get over it and I can't do that around you." Tears rolled down her face, and she stepped back when he reached for her.

"When I'm around you it feels like I can't breathe. And it hurts worse than anything I've ever felt."

She wiped away the tears running down her face. Kol tried to speak, but she cut him off.

"I can handle it," she said. "I'll be ok, but only if I'm not around you. I'm sorry. It won't always be like this but for now, it has to be."

She didn't give him a chance to reply. Mila walked away doing our best to hold in her tears. She hoped he would leave. Once he was gone, she would be able to breathe again. But she couldn't shake the feeling that she may have lost him forever.


	3. Chapter 3

"She's your best friend Rebekah if anyone knows where she is it's you."

"I don't Kol. I'm sorry."

Kol sighed and hung up the phone. He hadn't heard from Mila for weeks. In the past, no matter what happened between them she always came back.

After she left his hotel, Kol had searched for her. He looked at all her favorite places and her apartment, but she was nowhere to be found. He went home knowing she needed space. He tried calling a few days after, but her phone was disconnected. No one knew where she was.

At first, he hated her for disappearing, but his siblings had talked sense into him. He kept trying to find her, but each search was a failure. He missed her.

The truth was Kol had loved Mila for decades before he was last daggered. It didn't take long after becoming friends for him to fall for her. He never told her because the one thing he feared more than anything was losing her. After being undaggered in Mystic Falls he became determined to let go of her. Then he died and it didn't matter one way or another.

When he met Davina, he believed it was his chance to finally get over his feelings for her and love someone else. And he had loved her. Then Mila came to New Orleans and he was reminded of his feelings for her. He knew he could never love Davina the way he loved Mila.

It didn't take long for the young witch to notice something was wrong when Kol came back from France. For a while, he went on like normal, but after a few weeks he couldn't keep up the act. He told Davina the truth and they ended their relationship.

He started searching for Mila again afterward. He called everyone he could think of and even got a witch to cast a locator spell, but he had no luck. It was like she disappeared.

A month later he got a postcard. The message was short: _I'm alright. Stop looking._ It wasn't signed but he knew it was her handwriting. The card was from London which made him realize why he hadn't found her. She hated that city. It was where she was turned into a vampire.

_It was 1408. Mila was twenty-three years old, married to the man she loved and the mother of two children. She was on her way home after visiting friends. It was dark and she should have stayed through the night, but she didn't want to be away from her son and daughter. She was walking past an alleyway when he grabbed her. He held her against the wall with a hand over her mouth as she screamed._

"_Quiet," he said and her mouth snapped shut against her will. His eyes were dark and his teeth were sharper than any human's. He bit into her neck, but she couldn't scream. She closed her eyes and he put his wrist against her mouth. Her eyes widened when she saw the blood and kept her mouth shut._

"_Drink." Once again she had no choice but to listen. "This won't hurt and you'll thank me later."_

_Mila didn't have time to react before his hand tightened around her throat and everything went black._

_When she woke up the first thing she noticed was the burning in the back of her throat. The events of the night came back to her and she opened her eyes. She wasn't in her house but she was no longer in the alleyway either. She was laying on a couch and moved to sit up at the same time a door opened._

_A man walked in. He wasn't the one who attacked her, but she didn't recognize him._

"_You're awake finally," he said. "Sleep well?"_

"_Who are you?"_

"_Kol Mikaelson. I helped you with that encounter you had last night. I'm afraid I didn't come quick enough though."_

"_What do mean?"_

"_Right I have to explain," he said. "The man who attacked you was a vampire."_

_Mila laughed. "Do you think I'm a fool? Vampires are a myth."_

"_Think about it, Darling. Did you notice anything strange about the man?"_

_Mila thought about the man's eyes and teeth. "My God."_

"_That's not the worst of it."_

"_Worse than being attacked by a myth?"_

"_If you consider becoming one worse then yes."_

"_Becoming one?"_

"_After making you drink his blood, he killed you. You're in the process of becoming a vampire."_

"_Kol I told you to be nice. I'm Rebekah." Mila looked up when a blonde girl walked in. "I'm sorry about my brother. He's not good with considering other people's feelings."_

"_But he's telling the truth?"_

"_I'm afraid so."_

_She let out a sigh, running her hands down her face. Rebekah sat next to her and grabbed her hand. "I know this is a lot to grasp, but time is running out."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_You can choose to complete the transition and become a vampire or you can choose to do nothing. But if you don't complete the transition, you'll die."_

_She shook her head. "I have children. They need me. Can I be a mother and be a…"_

"_We can teach you how to live as a vampire. But as a vampire, you won't age. Eventually, you will have to leave."_

"_But I'll be able to raise my children?"_

_She nodded._

"_So what do I need to do?"_

_Rebekah walked her home and told her family she'd been attacked and had stayed with her family throughout the night. The Mikaelsons helped her live normally as a vampire, and she became close with the entire family,_

_Mila was able to stay and see both her children get married and meet her grandchildren. But people began to notice that she didn't look her age. She had to fake her own death. It broke her heart to watch her family mourn, but she had to leave._

_She only returned three times after that. When her husband died, she stayed by his side. She did the same for her son and then her daughter._

_Kol was there through it all. He became friends with her husband and her children loved him. He taught her to control the bloodlust that came with being a vampire. He helped her trust herself around her family._

_When it came time to bury them, Kol was there too. All of the Mikaelsons were. She lost her family, but she also gained a new one. Without them, she wouldn't have made it through the centuries she lived._


	4. Chapter 4

Mila was standing in front of four graves. One had her name on it. The others belonged to the family she lost centuries ago. The headstones showed their age, but Mila had paid for the plot to be taken care of through the years. She didn't come to London often. It was a reminder of the worst day of her life. When she did the gravesite was always her first stop.

It reminded her of what she lost, but it was also a reminder of what she got. The Mikaelsons were her family. She loved them all. They felt the same way about her. She was the part of their family that had been missing over the centuries. She found something in all of them that made her feel at home.

After she was forced to fake her death, Mila spent most of her time with Kol. They traveled the world for a hundred years. They went everywhere and did everything. That ended when Klaus put a dagger in his heart. Once Klaus daggered Kol she went off on her own for a while. It didn't take long for her to rejoin the rest of them. They were her family. And even when families hurt you, you still loved them.

Mila's attention went back to the graves in front of her. She had loved her husband. He was young, handsome and kind and he had loved her. He always told her he fell in love the moment he laid eyes on her. She always considered herself lucky. Many of her friends hadn't been so lucky. Their parents set up the marriage after they'd known each other for a few weeks. For Mila, that hadn't been enough time to fall in love, but it did come. One of the worst parts of her transition was knowing she wouldn't grow old with her husband.

Her children had been the most important thing in Mila's life. She never and would never love anyone as much as she loved her children. She was there for most of their lives. But a time came when she could no longer hide the fact that she wasn't aging. She had to leave them. That would always haunt her.

Kol became her best friend almost immediately after their first meeting. It took two hundred years for Mila to fall in love with him. It happened slowly, so slowly that she had no idea until she had fallen. By then there was no going back. It took her far too long to work up the courage to tell him, and when she finally had she'd been too late. Klaus daggered him. She lost her chance.

Now, almost a hundred years later, he knew. After all that time Mila was still terrified. She didn't know how it was going to play out. The possibility of losing the only family she had terrified her. The last time she had felt this helpless was when she was turned into a vampire.

Mia tensed when she realized someone was behind her. She stayed still and listened to the way they walked. She closed her eyes letting out a sigh.

"I told you not to come."

"Actually, you told me to stop looking. I didn't have to look to come here since I knew where you were."

She turned to face him. "Why are you here?"

Kol frowned realizing this wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation. "You weren't returning my calls. I was worried about you."

Mila started walking towards the parking lot away from the graves. She let out a sigh when Kol fell in step beside her. She wanted him gone. If he wasn't there she would pretend that everything was alright.

"Well, I'm fine and you can leave."

He grabbed her arm to stop her. "Will you listen to me for once?"

"What else is there to say?"

"I love you."

She froze after hearing his answer. Her mouth was hanging open as she stared at him. She waited for a laugh or at least smile to show that he was joking. But he just looked at her with a look of desperation. Desperate for her reply and desperate to be with her. And as she looked at him she knew it wasn't a joke or lie. After six hundred years, Mila knew his as well as she knew herself- maybe even better. She could read him like an open book. He was telling the truth. But that truth just confused her.

"You l- but what… what about Davina?"

"She was…" He sighed. "She was one last try at getting over you."

"How long?"

"Do you remember the first time we went to Paris?"

She nodded with a smile on her face. "It was the first time I'd been back since I was a child. That's when I knew I loved you."

Mila laughed. They had loved each other for the same amount of time yet neither of them noticed.

He moved closer and grabbed her hand. "I know I hurt you-"

"So did I," she said. "I was awful to you in France."

"The only time we lied to each other in six hundred years and we both suffered."

They both laughed. "It won't happen again."

"I'm counting on it," he said.

He moved his hand to the small of her back to pull her closer. She smiled. It was unbelievable that after all this time things were working out for the better.

"Just so you know, Rebekah has been planning our wedding since the 1800s."

Kol pressed his lips against Mila's before she could answer. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him back. They'd both been waiting so long for this moment, and it was better than they could have ever imagined.

"Rebekah had not been planning our wedding for two hundred years," she said after pulling away.

"Ask her yourself when we get home." He wrapped an arm around her waist and they started walking towards the parking lot.

"Ok, What do you mean by planning?"

"I mean she has a scrapbook full of ideas. Dresses, venues, caterers, you name it and she has it."

She shook her head. "I think you're making it up."

"I promise I am not. I'll show you when we get back."

"If this is true I'm a bit worried about Rebekah."

"Imagine how I felt finding it."

Mila laughed. "I hope you know we're not getting married a few days into our relationship."

"I know that, but Rebekah doesn't," he said. "Get ready for dress shopping."

They both laughed as they reached Kol's car. He opened the door so she could get in. While she was waiting for Kol to get in Mila couldn't help but smile. She wasn't going to marry him now, but maybe one day.

* * *

**This is the end. Let me know what you think. Thank you to everyone who has favorited and followed this story!**


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